


Flight 22

by velvetdivine



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cute, Fluff, I Don't Even Know, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27847238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetdivine/pseuds/velvetdivine
Summary: Strangers Jungwoo and Taeil sit next to each other on a flight.Theme songs:Kali Uchis - Flight 22f(x) - AirplaneJohn Mayer - Carry Me Away
Relationships: Kim Jungwoo/Moon Taeil
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	Flight 22

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever. I also don’t have someone to proofread other than Grammarly. So, please, be nice. I wrote it because Wooil is painfully underrated in the fandom which is crazy given the fact that they’re such a cute ship. But anyway, I hope you guys like it.

It’s 10:00 pm and the flight has been delayed for the third time. Jungwoo has an important business meeting in the morning and is worried he might not get enough sleep beforehand.

But more than anything, he’s still tired from the fight he had with his ex the day before. They broke up 2 months ago but they’re in that stage where they still talk to each other a few nights a week. It’s one of the worst stages, honestly. He knows they shouldn’t be texting each other, but he also kind of likes to keep some drama in his life to spice things up. He is a Pisces after all.

He’s on his second Pink Drink of the night. He can’t do coffee, ever. Gives him the jitters and he’s already too energized for that. Not to mention the overthinking that comes with. He’ll pass.

No matter how much he travels, which he does for work a lot, he always gets annoyed when there’s delays. But for some reason, this one feels different.

Finally. They announce that they’re ready to start boarding the plane. He slurps fast on that Pink Drink. He doesn’t like bringing outside food or drinks inside the airplane. It’s sort of bad luck, he thinks. He doesn’t even remember where he got that from. It’s probably fake but he’s made it a tradition for himself now.

He gets on the airplane, it’s one of those small ones that barely have any leg room which is terrible because he’s 180 cm with the longest legs anyone has ever seen. He finds his seat, D13. Thank god, a window seat. He just remembered he paid extra for it, how smart of him.

He sits down and makes himself comfortable. He puts on his earphones and is ready to start sleeping. He has heard the safety rules so many times that at this point he could recite them word for word. He notices that no one has sat down next to him. Nice. If it was up to him he would never have anyone sit down next to him on planes. The chatty ones? Those are the worst.

He’s sure at this point no one's going to sit next to him. It’s too late and he thinks he heard the flight attendant they’re not letting in more people. Great. A whole flight to himself.

It’s when he starts falling asleep that he feels someone sit next to him. Oh well, it is what it is. Thankfully this flight is only 3 hours long. In comparison to others he’s been in, this one goes by in what it feels like 10 minutes.

He’s immersed in his music. Jungwoo is a pretty good playlist-maker if he can say so himself. He’s excited about this new one he made while waiting for the plane to arrive. He called it “Airplane”, and added every single song that had the word airplane in the title. He likes to think he's quirky for that. 

He is now 80% asleep when he feels a tap on his shoulder. Good god, of all the type of airplane people in the world he got one of those: a chatter. He exasperatedly takes off one earphone and opens his eyes.

“Hey. I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” says the guy who just woke him up.

“Eh, it’s okay,” says Jungwoo. He pauses the music.

“I know I’m late and this is annoying for me to ask and I am really sorry. But would you mind switching seats with me?”, says this guy. The nerve. “It’s not a big deal if you don’t want to though. I just like sleeping next to the window”, he says with a smile. Again, the nerve.

Jungwoo has not felt an instant attraction to someone this way in a long time. Wow, it’s really been a long time. This guy looks like what we would call “a snack”. There’s something about his eyes, his mouth, the way he moves it when he talks. His smile. He doesn’t know anything about him but he’s ready to risk it all.

“Sure! No, no problem”, replies Jungwoo with a smile. Damn. The money he paid for the window seat was not worth it after all. Or maybe it was, he can’t decide at the moment.

They switch seats and get comfortable.

“I’m Taeil, by the way”, says the guy with the cutest smile Jungwoo has ever seen. According to Jungwoo, one of his worst and best traits is his ability to crush fast on people. It can be a one-day crush or a year-long crush, but when he likes someone, he really does. It makes him feel like the protagonist of a 2000s rom-com. Kate Hudson’s got nothing on him.

“I hope it’s not an inconvenience for you. Don’t worry, I won’t be bothering you more. I know how annoying a chit-chatter can be on a flight.” said Taeil. 

Jungwoo doesn’t even know how to respond. Normally, he would have agreed. Actually, 99.99% of the time, he would have happily agreed. This time, however, he wouldn’t mind a little conversation.

Jungwoo is starting to scramble for ideas on how to talk to this guy. Should he talk about the weather? No, too cliche. What about the-

“There's several exits on this aircraft in the event of an emergency At this time, please fasten your seat-belts, as we are preparing for take-off and welcome aboard, Flight 22”.

Taeil repeating the airline’s safety speech interrupts his thoughts. He looks at Jungwoo and they both start giggling.

“I can’t believe you know that”, says Jungwoo. Just 10 minutes ago he was thinking he could tell it word by word himself.

“Yeah, I’m a pretty frequent traveler. It’s inevitable I’d know it by now”, says Taeil shyly.

“Do you travel a lot for work?”. Yes, a good convo starter. Good job Jungwoo.

“Actually, it’s not really for work that I travel that much. My work is remote, so I can do it anywhere I want. I travel for pleasure,” said Taeil, looking proud.

“Oh? You’re probably the first person I know who would do this frequently on their own will” says Jungwoo. “I travel a lot too, but it's 100% for my job.”

“What do you do?”

“Ah, just boring business things. Lots of meetings, shaking hands, wearing suits”, says Jungwoo. This is the first time he has ever felt embarrassed to talk about work with someone. He wants to look interesting.

“Sorry, that’s such a boring question to ask someone. We’re all too used to asking people what they do for work instead of what they do for fun”, says Taeil.

_Is this guy reading my mind right now?_

“So what do you do for fun then?” says Jungwoo.

“Do you have time?”, says Taeil teasingly. “I mostly like making music. I sing, write, and record my own songs. So I like traveling for inspiration.”

“Sounds exhausting, but fun?”, says Jungwoo. He’s scrambling for things to say at this point. He has never felt so out of his comfort zone in his life.

“It’s really both but it’s definitely worth it for me. Nothing worse than a creativity block as a musician”, says Taeil. A musician? Yeah, this is the rom-com moment he's been waiting for.

“So do you live somewhere permanently or?”, says Jungwoo. Totally not trying to know where he lives.

“Oh yeah, I just rarely spend time there. I guess you could say the world is my home. Or is that too lame?”, Taeil says as he smiles.

“No no it sounds great,” says Jungwoo. “Kind of profound”. It’s actually kind of lame but sounds cute coming from him.

“Would you gentlemen like anything to drink?”, says the flight attendant.

“Cola,” says Taeil.

“Cider,” says Jungwoo.

They look at each other and smile again.

Three hours went by quickly and they didn’t stop talking the entire time. The flight felt too short for Jungwoo. This is the first time he doesn’t want a flight to end. What if he has someone else? He didn't want to ask that, it felt too personal. What if he doesn't want to see him again? 

“So what are you doing tomorrow?”, says Jungwoo. He had to go for it. He knows he’s probably gonna be busy for the entire week, but having lunch together once or twice or three times wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“I’m actually pretty busy tomorrow but…”, says Taeil. Then he stops for a few seconds. “You know what, fuck it. I’ll make time. We can meet whenever you have time.”

Jungwoo can’t help but smile hard. _Is this what dating a grown man feels like?_ He thinks to himself. He’s only a few years older than him but compared to his ex, who is the same age as Taeil, he feels so mature. 

They exit the plane and Jungwoo automatically goes to pick up his bag. He looks behind him and doesn't see Taeil anymore. 

Shit. Forgot to ask him for his number. He starts running back but he can’t find him. He even asks strangers if they have seen him. And yes he can't help but describe him as a sexy around 5'7'' tall man with an undercut. 

Fuck fuck fuck. He can’t believe he didn’t even ask for a last name. How is he gonna find him on Facebook?

Suddenly, he feels someone tugging his blazer from the back.

"It's Moon, by the way,"

_Huh?_

Jungwoo turns around. 

"My name. It's Moon Taeil", there he is, again, with the dreamiest smile you can imagine. He crosses his arms. “You thought I was gonna leave without saying goodbye?”

They exchange phone numbers and Jungwoo says “Ok, text me whenever you’re free or whenever you’d like to hang out. If you'd like to, of course.”

“Sure”, says Taeil.

They hug and part ways.

Jungwoo gets a little sad, as much as he knows he has a busy day tomorrow, he’d love to keep hanging out. He's met enough people randomly in his life to know that even when you exchange numbers with a stranger, very rarely you got to see them again. At least he got his name. 

He gets in a cab and on the whole ride home, he keeps replaying their whole conversation in his head. It all feels like a fever dream. Then his vibrating phone interrupts the daydreaming session.

He looks at the message.

> _What about now? :)_

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments or follow me on twitter if you'd like! I am snoopils on twitter.


End file.
